SINGAPORE - Maximilian Maeder added another feather in his cap as he clinched a silver medal at the 2022 Formula Kite World Championships in Cagliari, Italy, on Sunday.
His achievement in Italy is the 16-year-old's best-ever result at the senior level and adds to a growing list of accolades that include multiple youth world championships and Asian titles.
Singapore Sailing Federation's head of high performance and coaching Chung Pei Ming said: "Max has just completed his first year since entering the senior's circuit and has pretty much dominated every competition that he's entered.
"His work ethic as a 16-year-old matches that of those who have done multiple Olympic Games - he's hard working, precise and always pushing the edge to go faster."
The teenager, who won his second Formula Kite European Championships title in early October, had qualified second for the four-rider final behind Slovenia's Toni Vodisek.
Vodisek, 22, had gone into Sunday's first-to-three medal fleet with two race wins, which meant that he only needed one victory in the final to seal his world title.
Maximilian won the first race to level proceedings, but a crash in the second resulted in the Singaporean finishing third and Vodisek stormed home to clinch the race and the world championship trophy.
France's Axel Mazella bagged the bronze medal, while compatriot and defending champion Theo de Ramecourt was fourth.
While Maximillian had hoped to win his first world championships title, his second-place finish was an improvement from last year when he came in fifth. His achievement in Italy also secured him a spot at the 2023 Sailing World Championships, which is a main Olympic qualification event.
Kitefoiling will make its Olympic debut in Paris in 2024 and the adrenaline-packed sport is also expected to feature at the 2028 Los Angeles and 2032 Brisbane Games.
Chung believes that Maximilian's recent performances puts him in good stead to qualify for the Olympics in two years' time.
He said: "He's eyeing the 2024 Olympic Games as his first major event and he has shown he will be one of the top riders in his class.
"The Sailing World Championships is the first Olympic qualifier for 2024 and Max is sailing full-time, training and racing to prepare for the event."
